Washington addresses team on first day of workouts.

Today is pretty much the midpoint of the Spring Training Season. The Rangers are 3-9, with a few ties sprinkled in there, which is the worst record in the Cactus League, but like everything else in Spring Training it doesn’t count. The important thing about Spring Training is for the players to get themselves in shape and be ready for the start of the season. As we are at the midway point lets take a look at the big stories that have come out of camp, the competitions that are taking place, and the biggest surprises/disappointments so far in camp.

There have been a few big stories so far. Lets start with Russell Wilson coming to camp on March 3rd. Wilson came in and spoke to management, players, and prospects about what it takes to win. Wilson would know something about that having just won the Super Bowl last month. He also took part in infield drills with Ron Washington and signed autographs for the fans. It was a good experience that drew a lot of attention from the national media to Rangers camp for that day. Ian Kinsler then said some stuff and drew more negative attention to himself and the Rangers organization. Kinsler, who was traded in the offseason for Prince Fielder, came out in an ESPN article and called Jon Daniels a sleazebag, said that he pushed Nolan Ryan out, and that he did not want to be the leader the organization wanted him to be. Ian came off sounding like a real d-bag in that article and then said that it was all of joke as he was trying to save face. Unfortunately that brought a lot of national attention to the Rangers as well as Rangers players and coaches had to answer questions all day about the article.

As far as on the field stories there have been a three of them. First, Matt Harrison injuring his back. Harrison who was thought to finally be healthy coming into camp, came up with a bad back in the first week of camp. That set him back a couple of weeks and due to that he will not be on the opening day roster. Harrison figured out it was the mattress he was sleeping on and after that his back started to feel better and he was able to resume throwing a few days later. Second, Colby Lewis finally being healthy and working his way toward being in the rotation. Lewis had hip resurfacing surgery last August and it was thought at the time that he might not pitch again. He worked hard through the offseason and now feels better than he has in the last few seasons. The Rangers are slowly working him along. The hope is that he will be ready in time for the season. I really hope he is and I am sure that when he makes his first start in Globe Life Park the fans will give him a very nice cheer. It will be the culmination of almost 2 years of work. The third big story has been Michael Choice. It was thought that Choice wasn’t ready yet and would open the season in Frisco or Round Rock. All Choice has done though is hit. He is hitting .310 so far and slugging .517 and is making good contact on everything. He has placed himself right in the middle of the competition for the 4th outfield spot. It is a race that will come down to the final days in camp between him and Engel Beltre.

There are really 3 competitions taking place in this camp, but also one that has started to appear in the last few days. There is the 5th starter race, utility infield, and 4th outfield spot. We have already looked at the 4th outfield spot, so lets take a look at the 5th starter spot. Right now halfway into camp it looks like it is Tommy Hanson’s to lose. He has been solid, not spectacular though. Hanson has pitched 8.1 with only 3 earned runs, and has struck out 6 and walked 2. The other guys like Tanner Scheppers, Robbie Ross, and Nick Tepesch have been alright as well, but they don’t have the experience that Hanson has. They brought Joe Saunders in last week and in his first start he did Joe Saunders things. By that I mean he didn’t pitch well. Saunders went 3 innings, giving up 4 runs, and allowing 1 HR. He is going to need to do a lot better in his next start. The utility infield spot has been interesting as well. That competition is going on between Adam Rosales, Brent Lillibridge, Josh Wilson, Andy Parrino, Roughned Odor, and Luis Sardinas. Right now it looks like a two man race between Lillibridge and Rosales. Those were the two favorites heading into camp and nothing has really changed. Lillibridge has done nothing but hit. He is 7-14 so far with a ridiculous 1.214 OPS. Washington has also commented on how his defense has improved. Rosales hasn’t hit as well, but does have the experience of having played with the Rangers last year. Lillibridge is a veteran who has played for multiple organizations and is looking to add the Rangers as his next entry on his baseball card. I think that is another race that will come down to the last few days of camp to see who they start the season. Kevin Kouzmanoff is a guy that has also played well. He is hitting .320 so far and he can play both 1st and 3rd. He could provide some relief to Adrian Beltre and some insurance in case Beltre gets hurt again. The Rangers will have to take all of this into consideration when they are constructing the roster later this month.

Finally, the biggest surprises and disappointments in camp so far. I have detailed some of them already. The biggest surprises would have to be Robinson Chirinos and how well he has hit, Michael Choice showing he might be ready now instead of later, and Colby Lewis actually being healthy for the first time in several years. Chirinos has quietly had a great camp. Geovanny Soto had surgery early on in camp to remove a small bone from his foot. Since then Chirinos has been starting at catcher a lot and has really opened some eyes. He is hitting .467 thus far and even though there still may not be a place for him on the opening day roster the Rangers will not hesitate in calling him up in case something happens. He has shown thus far that he can certainly hit. Unfortunately Soto is likely to be ready for the season and they gave a decent size contract to JP Arencibia to be the backup. So those two will be the catchers on the opening day roster. I have detailed the other two surprises already. The biggest disappointments in camp so far have been Neftali Feliz not pitching better, Shin Shoo Choo not hitting as well as was expected, and the Rangers not being able to win more games. Feliz came into camp as the odds on favorite to be the closer, but with his velocity still not showing up he might not claim it. Feliz has been very hittable thus far in camp and as a closer that is not good. There still is two weeks and a lot can change between now and then, but he has got to pitch better when given the opportunity. Shin Shoo Choo was brought in with a pretty large contract, but so far hasn’t hit at all. He is hitting .158 or 3-19. When he is not hitting he is sitting out with elbow soreness. He has had to miss a handful of games for that. I am hoping he doesn’t become the Rangers’ Carl Crawford. A guy with a massive contract who underperformed that contract. Like Feliz though still two more weeks to get things turned around and be ready for when it counts. The final disappointment is that they haven’t been able to win more games. A lot of that has been that they haven’t been able to close out games. It is not Feliz or Soria closing out these games though. More often than not it has been guys like Pedro Figueroa and Lisaverto Bonilla. Right now I am not too concerned. Over these next two weeks you will see Washington start to manage these games like he would the actual games and I expect that the Rangers will be able to close out more of these games when they have their actual bullpen in there. It has been an entertaining camp so far, but I am sure I am like everyone else when I say that I am ready for the season to start. I know there is only 18 days left, but opening day cannot get here soon enough. Thankfully though for the Rangers there is still stuff to talk about and competitions that are ongoing. Until Washington announces who has won those competitions we will continue to talk about it.

Countdown to Opening Day: 18 Days